Here are Rob James’ books:
Tag: People
Who Reads My Books: Spencer Van Schevensteen
My name’s Spencer, I’m 24 and live in Harold Hill, Essex. Grew up around Upminster and Romford, left school at 16 to work for Ford Motor Company. Did an apprenticeship, stayed there for 6 years doing fibreglass modelmaking, toolmaking, some CAD and CNC but nothing too complicated or involved!! After leaving there and drifting from job to job, I finally settled in Harold Hill with my girlfriend, and became a househusband… ish. She earns ten times more than I ever will, and with our baby girl nearly here it seemed only sensible that I take care of the ankle bitter!
I’ve been reading for as long as I can remember. Started out on things like Goosebumps, Terry Pratchett, and the Hobbit. As I got older I discovered Science Fiction, among many other genres, and its basically taken off from there. I enjoy listening to music, anything from the thrashy, insane time signature metal, all the way down to jazz, country, some classical, all sorts. Just as long as its not a manufactured band or artist. Nothing is worse than emotionless, mass produced pop drivel! I watch a lot of films, television and stand-up comedy. Favourites include Deadwood, The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, Breaking Bad, The Proposition, anything the Coen brothers have done, Bill Bailey and Doug Stanhope. I also waste a lot of time playing Xbox, far too much time if truth be told!
I enjoy walks, with and without the dogs, bike riding, a bit of skateboarding, and golf. I don’t drink, but occasionally indulge in other intoxicants. Moderation in all things.
Hope that’s not too long, I attached a few photos of myself and a part of our book collection. A lot of my comedy and WW II books are upstairs in boxes, as the 2nd floor is being re-done and there’s not enough space to get them all down yet. Antony Beevor’s Stalingrad is definitely one of the top ones not shown, as well as Stirling’s Men, a book about the birth of the SAS.
Anyway, enough of my rubbish!
Hope anyone reading this had a good break over Christmas and the New Year,
All the best,
Spencer & Rebecca.
Here’s Spencer’s book collection:
Samuel and the Scorpion
Who Reads my Books: Kerri & Guy Slaney
Hello Mr Asher,
My name is Kerri Slaney and my husband Guy and I are both big fans of your books.
He’s a civil servant working for DFT in Transport Security and I’m a commercial scheduler for a few niche channels like CBS Reality & the Horror Channel.
Guy’s been a fan of your for many years and is more interested in sci-fi whereas I’ve always been more of a Pratchett girl. That said a couple of years ago on holiday in Scotland he’d bought along Prador Moon and Alastair Reynolds House of Suns, so I read both and adored them. I read Prador Moon twice that week and have enjoyed all the series, particularly Brass Man.
We’re really a geeky couple, so I’ve attached few pics of our library of books and Guy’s Mr Crane character from the Champions Online which I think is rather spiffy.
Best wishes and Merry Christmas to you & your family.
Kerri
Who Reads My Books: Huan Tan.
Here’s Huan Tan — he’s the one on the right!
I thought I had better give you a short Bio. Currently living in Ireland and working for the Irish Sea Fisheries Board as a Fisheries Technologist. What that means is that I get to try and introduce new technology to the Fishermen. That could be as simple as another net design or as complex as sticking satellite tags into giant bluefin tuna and seeing where they go.
I have been working for this company for the last 12 years but before that I was a fisherman for 10years, I fished and drove boats around the world, Japan, Australia, Tahiti, Solomon Islands, Guam and New Zealand and the Flemish Cap were all places that I fished or delivered boats through. This gave me a great interest in marine life and is partly why I enjoy the Spatterjay series so much. There is plenty of weird stuff in the sea that hardly ever gets seen by people other than fishermen or avid documentary watchers. Especially the real deepwater stuff >1000m.
I also spent time as motorbike mechanic, a short order cook and a plastic double glazed window maker.
These days I like to spearfish, ride motorcycles and shoot firearms.
Funnily enough nearly all photos of me in the last 20 years or so have of me holding a fish….. Goes with the territory I guess. The backstory to this pic is that it was taken aboard a Norwegian research vessel called the G.O.Sars, way up past the arctic circle. We were doing some mad experiments to see if we could develop fishing gear that had a reduced environmental impact. Since then people have discovered that trawling is actually beneficial to some bottom types, a bit like ploughing a field I guess.
That cod was a big one, and went to make lots of pieces of boiled cod for the crew.
I hope this helps
regards
Huan Tan
County Cork
Ireland
Gary Gibson on E-books.
Here’s another way of looking at the whole issue … with tongue firmly wedged in cheek.
I would like to make ‘a modest proposal’ concerning the ebook market, given that I agree fully that authors should get paid for their work. I should know, I’m one of them, and yet according to some we are about to be inundated by a vast wave of piracy that will see artists and creators of all types rendered destitute.
Now I must confess some of my sins.
Hitch's Books
Who Reads My Books: Hitch.
My name is Vaughan, but I get called and prefer to be called Hitch. It took many years to create the aura of Hitch, lots of hard work, nagging and, “Just call me Hitch, it’s less gay!” Suffice to say I am not overly keen on my actual name as it doesn’t really relate to me. I don’t dig sheep, have a Welsh tenor’s voice, or drive Ivor the Engine down the windy tracks each and every day, nor am I Welsh. Yes, my parents hated me 🙂 They actually called me Vaughan because, and I quote, “It cannot be shortened when you are at school”. Trouble was, my last name is Jackson… so yeah, who the fuck cared about Vaughan – I was Jacko for years… shudder.
What am I like? Well, I have an ego but I am cool with it (that may be the ego talking though). I love music, reading, gaming, the daughter and the GF (Who also rates you as possibly the best modern – and living – Sci-fi author) though perhaps not in that order. I have been a broadcaster on community radio back in Sheffield, UK, and on various Internet Radio stations (the future of mediocrity). I have also DJ’d in a club, been a sales manager, sales director, butcher, carpet-fitter and worked on Doncaster Racecourse telling the gypsies to fuck off or we would have them! Brave or suicidal? You choose. My last job was as a Chef. Right now I am looking for work and hoping to find some soon. Need someone to work for you in Scandinavia Neal?
I was/am English, depending on who you ask. If you ask me, I am now Norwegian. I live in Trondheim with my girl, Emma, and my daughter. I moved here about six years ago and regret not one bit of it, although in the winter we often contemplate moving somewhere with white beaches and clear green seas.
My website, http://mycompanioncube.com/ is my only outlet to the world these days, well, that and Twitter (@hi7ch) and anyone that wants to follow me, please do so! We may not have much in common but I am sure I will annoy you into heated debate at some point – I have a habit of doing this.
Been reading the wonderful works of Mr Asher here since the floppy, laminated, Runcible Tales (Writer of the Future) book and to the best of my knowledge have all his novels and a couple of short story collections. None of them are signed though so Neal, get your arse to Trondheim, I’ll cook then you come for a drink with us, and do a book signing over here? Hey, I can try can’t I? 🙂
What I miss? Hmm. I am 42 (Which works well with my nickname!), look 35, or so the ladies say, not me. Should probably work as a comedian… Pink Floyd rule! Love all books, prefer hard Sci-Fi over most. Am a massive Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy fan, hence the chosen nickname. Once met Douglas Adams. Want Herodotus: The Histories, for Christmas. Write short stories and occasionally and stick them online. Erm, that has to cover most of it, surely?
Pics attached, feel free to scream upon viewing.
